Many people associate beautiful aquariums with goldfish, and for beginner aquarists, the first experience is most often associated with these beautiful and magnificent individuals. It is believed that goldfish are the most unpretentious of all, but this is not entirely true. Only with proper and balanced nutrition will they be healthy and live a maximum period.
The Importance of Proper Nutrition
Aquarium inhabitants of this species are distinguished by good vision and hearing, developed organs of smell, taste, and touch. Thanks to these features, fish can easily find food as soon as it enters the field of perception. Features of gills allow pets to seek out food in the silt. All inedible elements are thrown away.
Goldfish do not have a stomach in the usual sense. Inside is the intestine with the mucous membrane, which is engaged in the digestion of food. Its volumes are small, so you need to feed your pets regularly, several times a day and in small portions.
With an optimal diet, fish excrete a large amount of excrement and urine, so there is a need to often change the water in the aquarium. If pets overeat, then toxins also begin to stand out.
Goldfish need in a balanced diet to properly develop and grow. With proper care, they can live in the aquarium for more than 10 years, but it all depends on the particular species. It is important to feed the ward with proteins, minerals, vitamins, fiber and carbohydrates. Dry feeds are commonly used. However, fish should be fed in a variety of ways so that they do not give up on bored products.
Aquarium fish are less active than their wild relatives. That is why It is worth monitoring the diet to prevent overeating. By the way, it’s goldfish prone to absorb excess food.
It is recommended to alternate plant and live food so that the immunity is formed as qualitatively as possible.
Fish really need vitamins. One of the most important is vitamin A - it is thanks to him that the goldfish have such a beautiful and rich color. If the scales began to lighten, turn pale or cloudy - you urgently need to replenish the supply of vitamins.
What do they eat?
There are many specialized feeds for goldfish, and there are also options for natural feeding. For proper development it is necessary to periodically replace one method with another. You can feed the goldfish with the following types of food.
Balloons
This type of food contains a lot of protein. Before giving food to fish, it is necessary to soak it in aquarium water for 10 minutes.
Sometimes wards may begin to have problems with buoyancy after such feeding. In this case, you should stop giving food in granules.
Flakes
It is considered the most versatile option. There is a lot of protein in high-quality feed. Flakes must have a diverse composition - the only way the fish will receive the necessary amount of nutrients.
Frozen food
It can be both plant and animal. Purchased at major pet stores. Thaw small portions and give to fish. Repeated freezing is strictly prohibited. The advantage of this food is that it is nutritious, but devoid of pathogens.
Live food
From time to time you can use such feed as regular earthworms, brine shrimp, daphnia.
You can send such food to the aquarium only after soaking it in purified water - this way all the excess will leave the intestines of the worms, otherwise the fish may be poisoned.
Food of this kind enriches the body with protein, and you can buy it in almost any pet store. Many owners are happy to watch how the fish hunt for prey.
Vegetables
Peas, carrots and spinach are very useful for goldfish. Algae are considered an alternative. It is necessary to moisten vegetables in boiling water before sending them to the aquarium - it is much easier for fish to eat soft food.
Normal food can be varied with goodies. Sometimes it’s worth giving goldfish bread, slices of cucumbers, watermelons or oranges. Other treat options:
- boiled rice;
- soft bread;
- bloodworm;
- prawns in brine without shell;
- various leafy greens;
- corn grains;
- peeled grape berries.
How many times a day to give food?
It is better if one person in the family is responsible for feeding the goldfish. Otherwise, you should get some capacity to measure portions. Goldfish are always hungry, but eat a little food at a time. This is due to the fact that an excess of food is processed into slag.
It’s often not worth feeding fish; 3 times a day is enough. One feeding should contain the optimal amount of food so that the fish ate everything and left nothing. If pets have appeared recently, then It is worth giving as much food as is placed between two fingers.
In the future, it is important to determine the amount that specific fish consume.
If the schedule does not allow producing so many feedings, then you can reduce them to two. It is important to understand that the fish needs food, the weight of which is 3% of its body weight. The same amount of food should be given. It is not necessary to pour more in the morning so that the fish ate during the day. This will lead to water pollution in the aquarium and overeating.
Basic nutrition
Keeping goldfish at home is not as easy as it might seem at first glance.
Feeding requires special attention from the owner. Better to use quality and proven feed from specialized stores.
Important feeding rules
- Goldfish eat absolutely everything and do not know the measure. It is worthwhile to carefully consider the portion sizes so that the food does not remain. In just 1 night, food debris can poison the water in the aquarium and cause death.
- It is necessary to feed pets daily at the same time. This will provide convenience to both the fish and the owner. The probability of overfeeding or underfeeding is reduced.
- Set up a feeding area in that part of the aquarium, where there is no vegetation.
- After 5-10 minutes, remove the remaining food from the water. If the inhabitants of the aquarium are slow species (telescope or sky eye), then you can wait 15 minutes.
- Overeating, especially systematic, always leads to the appearance of various diseases. Usually there are cases of swimming disorders. Experienced aquarists advise arranging for goldfish a kind of fasting days several times a month with the same interval. On this day, leave your pets completely without food.
- Goldfish need more carbohydrates than proteins. For a balanced diet, it is best to use purchased food, which is designed specifically for this type of aquarium inhabitants. Such nutrition will provide all the necessary vitamins that will maintain a high decorative scale.
- In some cases, goldfish may begin to eat plants in the aquarium. The reason is their constant hunger. You can avoid this if you choose algae with hard leaves. An excellent solution would be to plant egg capsules, arrowheads, and wallysneria. It is better to place the roots not in the ground, but in a special pot, as the inhabitants of the aquarium periodically dig. If the fish get to the roots, then the plants will die.
- It is important to clean the aquarium regularly. We are talking about a complete replacement of water and washing the walls, bottom, and decorations. So you can be sure that undernourished food does not poison residents.
For more information on how to feed goldfish, see below.
